Good morning and good Monday. Oh, Monday mornings. Do they get a bad rap or are they really that bad? Did you know that the greatest number of heart attacks occur on Monday mornings? It’s true. I guess as we completely zone out over the weekend and dump all the problems, Monday morning is the day we are forced to pick them all back up and that increases stress. The same with school. We forget all the assignments and homework and then snap into panic mode on Monday morning. (or at least that described my whole student career) If you think about it, every weekend is like a little mini vacation. You might enjoy the time off, but you’re gonna have to pay for it when you play catch up on Monday morning.
Well, it was a great weekend around here, pretty low key. We did have some friends from church invite us over for a Super Bowl party last night. As far as the game went, what a yawner. I mean really, 3-0 at half? Of course after the NFC and AFC championship games 2 weeks ago, how could it ever live up? I read that a commercial this year during the Super Bowl was a whopping $5.25 million. Wow, that’s quite a stack of cash. And after watching all of the commercials, I can tell you who has all the money…beer companies.
Let’s move onto our 5MC chapter of the day, Hebrews 12. The first 10 chapters of Hebrews deals with doctrine and then the last 3 chapters deal with the practical application of that doctrine. The actual writer of Hebrews is unknown but it largely leans towards Paul for several reasons and this is one of them. Paul used this format in almost all of his letters, doctrine first that then moves into application. There’s also another hint that Hebrews might be Paul and it’s our topic today. Seeing the Christian life as a race. Paul used the foot race as a metaphor in 1 Corinthians, 2 Timothy, Philippians, Galatians and of course right here in Hebrews 12. Paul loved the idea of the Christian life as a race and so do I. Today we’ll look at the race a little differently. Let’s look at the first 3 verses of chapter 12.
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.3 Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.” Heb 12:1-3
What a beautiful passage of scripture we have before us today. Let’s break it down and apply it to our lives. First, who are the cloud of witnesses that surround us watching us run the race? Think back to chapter 11, the faith chapter. Remember the 14 men and women of great faith mentioned? That would be them. Recall that verses 39 and 40 of chapter 11 lead right into our passage this morning. There is a chapter break but that’s been inserted for our convenience, it was of course not there in Paul’s original letter. Always remember as you’re reading an epistle (letter) in God’s Word, that it’s just that…a letter. Read it as a letter that all flows together to give a central message. So right out the gate (pun intended) we receive an amazing image. As we take our starting blocks for the race, we can look over in the stands and guess who is there cheering us on? Moses. Abraham. David. Sarah. Joseph. Enoch. Wow, just stop for a second and think about that. The heroes of faith in chapter 11 are cheering for you. They are for you in this race. They excelled in their Faith in God and they want the same for you, to have tremendous faith in God.
Now today, I want us to picture the race a little differently. When we think of Paul describing the Christian race, what do we think of? We think of running. We think of ourselves halfway around the track, huffing and puffing, striving for the finish line. But today I want us to think specifically about the starting line. Every race starts out somewhere. Every race has to begin before it can be ran and completed.
I meet and talk with Christians every week and I see so many that are gathered around the starting line, ready to start the race but that’s all they’re doing…standing at the starting line. They’ve got on their brand new Asics running shoes, they’ve got a really cool matching Nike running out fit on with really slick matching Oakley shades. They’re ready but they’re not in the blocks. They’re ready for the race but they’re not running. You see, there’s a difference between being ready for the race and being IN the race. So, as you’re at the starting line, how do you really get IN the race? Let’s discuss.
First, it’s important to note that the devil does not want us to get IN the race. Satan will do everything he can to deter people from getting into the race. We see two such reasons in the first part of our verse. “lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely.” Before we even get into the starting blocks, we have a burden and a hindrance. The enemy of the runner is weight. If you and I were to run a race against each other but right before we start, I give you a 50lb bag of sugar and tell you that you have to run with it, I can pretty much tell you who will win. You see the heavier you are the harder it will be for you to run. On the opposite though, the lighter you are the easier it will be for you to run. So, what is the 50lb bag of sugar? Sin. In fact, our verse tells us “the sin that clings so closely.” Have you ever pulled some stuff out of the dryer and it has static electricity? That one sock that clings to the pants? You shake it violently over and over but that little sock just will not fall off! It clings...closely. That is sin in our life that will keep us out of the race. You see, sin that clings to our lives WILL create distance between us and God. It’s a guarantee. If you have unaddressed sin in your life, it WILL drive a wedge between you and God. Let me give you an example.
Have you ever told a big lie to someone that you really love? For whatever reason it happened and now you have to deal with it. As days or even weeks pass, how do you look at and deal with that person? Do you run up to them and embrace them warmly? Or do you see them and have a desire to turn and go the other way? If you’re honest, you now have a tendency to avoid them. The sin of lying has entered the relationship and as a result, there is now a wedge driven into the relationship. So how do you fix the relationship? You go to them and you tell them that you have failed them. That you lied, you were wrong and that you would like to ask for their forgiveness. You make it right. You made it wrong in the first place, so it’s up to you to make it right. My friends, it’s no different with God and sin. As we sin against God, we quench the Holy Spirit that lives within us. We are no longer able to simply and honestly run up to Him and embrace Him. But we can get that fellowship with God back. How? Go to God today and admit what you’ve done to wrong Him. Admit the mistakes you’ve made and then simply and honestly ask Him to forgive you. Please hear this carefully, there is nothing that God loves more than to have you ask for His forgiveness. He so desperately desires for you to be close to Him. But in order to be close to Him, you have to come to Him with an honest heart. As you get into those starting blocks to start this race, you need to be free of that extra weight and that sin that clings so closely.
Now as you’re in the starting block, ready to run, you need to ask yourself, “For what am I running?” Every runner runs for the finish line, for that yellow tape that stretches across the finish line. But I want you to think about what that tape is to you today. Is it self-glory? Is it success? Is it money? Is it material things? My friends if you look up out of those blocks and these things are what’s at your finish line, you’ll never start the race. You see this is God’s race, not ours. As we look up out of those blocks we should be seeing Jesus at the finish line, loving arms stretched out wide, awaiting us. That’s our finish line. That’s what will get you out of those blocks and running a strong race. Knowing that at the end is the pure grace, mercy and goodness of Jesus Christ. That’s what we see in our verse this morning. “and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.”
So, we’ve shed the extra weight of sin and we’ve got our eyes firmly fixed on Jesus as our finish line, but what about the race? Uh oh, we forgot about the race. Well, if you’re like me, I don’t like running. I can walk 5 miles and enjoy every step of it, but running, not so much. Running hurts my knees, it’s hard on my ankles and it really winds me. Running is hard work. So, as we run the race towards Jesus, we will get tired. We will get winded. We will get lost in the monotony of the long run. How do we combat this and stay on pace?
Here we go. If I ask a question in the 5MC you can pretty much always be safe with one answer. And this time you would be right again. The Word of God. For us to be able to effectively handle the grind, the monotony, the demands of the race of the Christian life, we are going to need help. LOTS of help. And praise God, He gave it to us in His Holy Word. My friends, if you are to hope to be able to endure the Christian race of life, you MUST have the Word of God in your heart. Maintaining a serious study of the Word of God is essential to you growing closer to God. Let me say that again… maintaining a serious study of the Word of God is essential to you growing closer to God. Without studying the Word of God, the race will be hopeless. The weights you shed at the starting line will reappear. That sin that you shook off will show back up and cling to you, tighter than ever. You see sin WILL keep you from running the race. Before long the ravages of sin will have you slowing to a walk and then just stopping. The power of sin in your life will completely halt you in your run towards Jesus. It’s simple, you have to deal with the sin in your life directly and immediately or it will affect your run immediately. Listen to this…the Word of God will keep you from sin but sin will keep you from the Word of God. Think about that.
Well, this morning I have been challenged and I hope you have too. We need to shed the tremendous weight of sin in our lives by confessing it to God. We need to keep our eyes on Jesus, and we need to commit to a serious study of God’s Word. These three elements will keep you running this race with vigor, excitement and joy as each stride brings you closer to the loving arms of Jesus.
Bless you in your run today.
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